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Tuesday, 13 May 2014

Decoupaged Chairs

Just before the weekend I spotted these chairs sitting unwanted outside our local Church Hall, which is currently being renovated.

Apart from the fact that I hate seeing anything thrown away, I really liked the shape of these chairs.

Very retro, and they have dates on the underside from back in the 60s. But they were in need of a bit of attention. I grabbed a couple hoping to do them up in time to sell at the Bake Off, which was a little optimistic.

Maria kindly helped me paint the metal frame!

We used chalk paint, one red and another in a lovely bright green.

And then I cut up an old, vintage children's book, that was falling apart anyway, and used it to decoupage the seat and the back. One of them with a general nursery rhyme theme:

And one with a 'Red Riding Hood' theme:

They were very rushed, I could have done with taking a bit more time and care over them (and even so they didn't dry in time for Saturday unfortunately), but it's amazing how a bit of painting and sticking can transform a dull, unwanted piece of furniture.

I think they'd look really good just painted too. And I was also very tempted to decoupage them with an ancient cookery book. There are so many possibilities with decoupage - maps, sheet music, stamps, comics, nature books...

There's a nice, clear tutorial on decoupage here, and if you need any further inspiration then have a quick browse round Pinterest, here are a few ideas from there:

And if you're local then there are still some chairs outside that Church Hall that need rescuing from the 'dump'!

7 comments:

You guys did a great job! How fun. You are making me want to go thrifting for chairs! Several years back, I did something similar to an old desk chair that belonged to my grandfather. I used antique looking pressed paper and by the time the Modge Podge dried, it looked like a patchwork old leather bound book. Still have it. It would need some touching up, but it's still holding on! You can see it a bit in this post : http://familyfaithfoodfabric.wordpress.com/2014/01/29/for-the-love-of-fabric-the-making-of-a-quilters-space/

Wow!!!! You gave those old chairs a whole new life! I love what you did. I never would have thought to decoupage them, but the results are wonderful! They look like high-end, boutique style chairs that someone would pay a lot of money for. Nice job!

I love the idea of giving life to "no longer wanted" items. It would be so much fun to just follow you around for a day and watch you work. I might drive you crazy, hanging over your shoulder all day, but I bet I'd learn a lot. The chairs are gorgeous.